Remember the five other couples we met at the Johns Hopkins retreat? (https://embracingtherollercoaster.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/the-couples) We met up with two of the couples today for brunch. I was equal parts looking forward to it and dreading it. I find that I don’t really like to expose myself to anything that might permeate the bubble in which I choose to live. We sat and chatted and brunched and caught up. Two hours flew by in the blink of an eye.
D, the oldest member of our group, had noticeably lost weight. He was in the hospital in December for pleurisy. Turns out for the last three years, he has had cancer related challenges around his birthday. This year was no different. He has a tumor on his back which has started to grow and so he is now back on a chemo regimen that he swore he would never do again because the side effects are so awful.
J, the only female patient in our group, looked great. I thought she looked even more lovely than when we met her in October. She revealed that her last two scans were not good. She has been through lots of different chemo regimens many of which stopped working. She said she is hopeful that this one will make a difference for her. When she hugged me goodbye she got very teary eyed and emotional. It made me worry about how “not good” her scans are.
Once again, I was humbled and reminded that while we may find our path challenging and tiring, there are others out there who are forging ahead through so much more. They are doing so with grace and humor and tenacity.
xoxo
Robyn